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BURKE TOPS 100 RUNS, RBI, & SB IN ONE SEASON
STAR CF WAS ALREADY 1ST WITH 100 RBI IN A SEASON, NOW ALSO 1ST WITH 100 SB

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 17, 1873) - On Saturday, American #1 John Henry made history by becoming the first Pitcher in American Professional Baseball League history with 30+ Wins in a single season. On Sunday, the chance to beat up on last-place Kings County meant more history was made by American BC.

The result was never in doubt, with American taking charge over the middle innings and winning 15-3. The result gave American the new high mark for wins in a season at any level with 62, beating the 1871 Orange team that went 61-29.

However, there were other things to watch. After hitting a Single in his first trip to the plate American CF James Burke stole Second Base, putting him at 99 Stolen Bases on the season. The previous day Burke had become the first player in baseball history to reach 100 Runs Batted In during a single campaign, and now with one more Stolen Base he would also become the first player with 100 Stolen Bases in one season.

In the midst of an eight-run rally during the top of the 8th, Burke would get his chance at another piece of history. After hitting another Single, Burke took off for Second Base on the first pitch to Franklin Petty and swiped the bag, stealing his 100th base of 1873.

In addition to the above, Burke had long since passed the 100-Run barrier, meaning that he had done something no player had ever come remotely close to: Burke had officially reached 100 Runs, 100 Runs Batted In, & 100 Stolen Bases in the same season, and he was the first ever to reach two of the three century marks.

When Burke made the stunning decision to leave Shamrock and then joined the newly-minted Founders’ Cup champions on December 11th of last year, conventional wisdom was that American’s more batsman-friendly venue of Glenwood Field would lead to Burke having a noticeably better season from an offensive standpoint. However, nobody could imagine that Burke would put up statistics like this, numbers that there are no reference levels for.

Burke and his American teammates still have six games left, so who knows what else they might accomplish during the last week of play before the third edition of the Founders’ Cup?